How does FLSA 778.218 idle-hours pay work?

29 CFR 778.218 says payments for occasional periods when the employee is not at work due to vacation, holiday, illness, failure to provide work, or other similar cause — in amounts approximately equivalent to normal earnings — are not compensation for hours of employment. Exclude them from the regular rate under § 7(e)(2); do not credit them toward statutory overtime. Only punched hours count toward 40.

Same as 778.219 unused leave / forgo?

No. 778.218 covers pay while actually idle (not at work). 778.219 covers forgoing leave / unused-leave payout when the employee works instead. Classic dollars differ when idle hours differ ($1,220 for 6h idle here vs $1,260 for 8h leave there).

Same as 778.223 on-call?

No. 778.223 puts non-hours-worked on-call / standby pay IN the regular rate unless it separately qualifies under 778.218. Classic on-call $1,144 vs idle-218 exclusion $1,220 on this page's punches.

What about a regularly scheduled day of rest?

778.218(b) says regularly scheduled days of rest are not holidays, vacations, or lack-of-work absences. The routine-rest-day toggle denies the exclusion and puts the payment in RR ($1,232 on the classic punches).

FLSA 778.218 Idle Hours Pay — Excluded from Regular Rate

Q: Classic $20 × five 10h + 6h holiday idle?

50 hours worked × $20 = $1,000; 6h idle × $20 = $120 (excluded from RR); extra half-time 10 × $10 = $100; total $1,220. Ordinary /overtime/ is $1,100. Including idle in RR totals $1,232. Classic 778.219 with 8h leave is $1,260. CFR $12 example totals $732.

FLSA 778.218 idle hours — excluded from the regular rate

29 CFR § 778.218: payments for occasional periods when the employee is not at work due to vacation, holiday, illness, lack of work, or other similar cause (jury, funeral, weather, FMLA), approximately equivalent to normal earnings, are excluded from the regular rate and not creditable toward FLSA overtime. Idle hours are not punched. Classic $20 × five 10h + 6h holiday idle → $1,220 vs /overtime/ $1,100 vs include-RR $1,232 vs 778.219 8h leave $1,260 vs 778.223 $1,144 / idle-contrast $1,140 vs 778.220 $900. CFR $12 → $732.

How 778.218 pays

Idle pay out of RR. Section 778.218 addresses payments for occasional periods when the employee is not at work — vacation, holiday, illness, failure of the employer to provide sufficient work, or other similar cause — in amounts approximately equivalent to the employee’s normal earnings for a similar period. Those dollars are not compensation for hours of employment: exclude them from the regular rate under § 7(e)(2); do not credit them toward statutory overtime.

Only punched hours count toward 40. Idle hours are not hours worked. Extra half-time after 40 is computed on punched hours only, at the (typically unchanged) regular rate.

Occasional / sporadic; not routine rest days. Paragraph (b) limits the exclusion to infrequent, sporadic, or unpredictable absences. Regularly scheduled days of rest are not “holidays,” “vacations,” or lack-of-work days — the routine-rest-day toggle denies the exclusion.

Not 778.219 / not 778.223 / not 778.203. 778.219 is the forgo / unused-leave twin (employee works + leave payout). 778.223 keeps on-call duty pay IN RR unless it separately qualifies under 778.218. 778.203 is holiday premium credit for hours actually worked.

Classic · $20 · five 10h + 6h holiday idle → $1,220 (idle $120 excluded; OT half $100; vs /overtime/ $1,100 · include-RR $1,232 · 778.219 8h $1,260 · 778.223 $1,144 · 778.220 $900).
CFR-scale · $12 · same punches · 6h idle → $732.
Contrast-include / routine rest-day · same punches · $20 → $1,232.
Jury / illness / lack-of-work / weather · 6h idle @ $20 → $1,220.
Zero idle → $1,100 (ordinary after-40).

Sources

29 CFR § 778.218 — Pay for certain idle hours (Cornell LII, HTTP 200)
29 CFR § 778.218 — eCFR (HTTP 200)
29 CFR § 778.218 — GovRegs (HTTP 200)
29 U.S.C. § 207 — Maximum hours / regular rate / § 7(e)(2) (HTTP 200)
WHD Fact Sheet #56A — Regular rate under the FLSA (HTTP 200)
29 CFR § 778.219 — Unused leave / forgo cousin (HTTP 200)
29 CFR § 778.223 — On-call cousin (HTTP 200)
/flsa-778-219-unused-leave/ — 778.219 forgo twin
/flsa-778-223-on-call/ — 778.223 on-call (IN RR unless 218)
/flsa-778-220-show-up/ — 778.220 show-up cousin
/overtime/ — ordinary after-40 baseline

FAQ

Classic five 10h + 6h holiday idle @ $20?

50h × $20 = $1,000; 6h idle × $20 = $120 (excluded); half-time 10 × $10 = $100; total $1,220 vs /overtime/ $1,100 vs include-RR $1,232 vs 778.219 $1,260 vs 778.223 $1,144. CFR $12 → $732.

Wrongly include idle in RR?

Contrast path → rem $1,120 ÷ 50h = RR $22.40; extra half $112; total $1,232. 778.218 excludes the idle pay when occasional/sporadic.

Same as /flsa-778-219-unused-leave/?

No. 778.219 is forgoing leave / unused-leave payout while working. 778.218 is pay while actually idle. Classic $1,220 (6h) here vs $1,260 (8h leave) there.

Do idle hours count toward 40?

No. Only hours actually worked count. The idle payment is dollars, not hours.

Can idle pay be credited toward OT?

No. Because it is not compensation for hours worked, no part may be credited toward statutory overtime under the Act.